Introduction

You can have fewer
headaches—and less pain when you do get them—by finding out what things, or
triggers, bring on your headaches. You can try to avoid triggers to
prevent tension headaches. To prevent headaches:

How do you find and avoid headache triggers?

Finding your headache triggers

Use a headache diary(What is a PDF document?) to find your headache
triggers. Keeping track of what you
do every day—the foods you eat, the stress you feel, the
weather, and other things—can help you find a
pattern to your headaches. This helps you know what to avoid to
prevent headaches.

Avoiding your headache triggers

To avoid your triggers, try to:

Get regular exercise. If you do
have a headache while you exercise,
write down the activity you were doing. Avoid very hard exercise.
This can trigger a tension headache.

Keep regular sleep patterns. Sleeping too much or too little
can trigger headaches. If you do get a headache when your
sleep pattern has changed, this may be a trigger that you
can control.

Eat
healthy food on a regular schedule. This may help prevent
headaches. Going a long time without eating can trigger a
headache.

Get treatment if you have
depression and anxiety. These health problems can
cause headaches.

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How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.